ILCAD 2015 – Take your time, don’t risk your life!

Launch by UIC and TCDD of the 7th edition of ILCAD, International Level Crossing Awareness Day, 3 June 2015, Istanbul, Turkey

(Paris, 2 June 2015)– On 3 June, the UIC, the international rail community and many partners from the road sector as well as a number of international institutions will be holding the 7th edition of International Level Crossing Awareness Day (ILCAD: www.ilcad.org).

As in previous years, many countries will be participating in this global event, either by relaying it on their websites or on social media, or by organising a range of activities around 3 June. The partners in ILCAD will be focusing in particular on safety at level crossings, but some will also make the most of the opportunity to raise public awareness of other dangers such as crossing railway lines where it is strictly forbidden to do so, or safety on station platforms.

Each year, the ILCAD partners choose a different section of the public for their awareness campaign and this year they have decided to focus on pedestrians and cyclists.

Almost all collisions on level crossings result due to the actions of the road users, but increasingly also due to pedestrians and cyclists. Behaviour such as failing to respect the highway code, lapses in concentration, habit, fear of arriving late for school, work or an appointment, lack of awareness of the risks are all involved. Such behaviour which fails to take safety adequately into account, leads level crossing users to act recklessly, leading to severe injuries or even loss of life. They can put the lives of others at risk, whether those travelling in their vehicles, or rail staff and passengers.

Pedestrians who pass under or over the barriers at level crossings to save time, or cyclists who illegally zig-zag round the half barriers may sometimes allow a first train to pass but fail to expect another coming from the other direction and are struck by it.

To promote the awareness of these pedestrians and cyclists who infringe the law or who are oblivious of the risks they are running, we have produced a new 1-minute-video and some posters. These posters were made with pedestrians and cyclists in mind, but will be useful as a reminder to all users in a hurry, distracted by modern technology (mobile phones, headphones, sat nav, etc.), stressed by modern-day life. These are the people who do not respect road signs and take unnecessary risks by crossing the tracks when the light is flashing or even when the barriers are down announcing the arrival of a train.

This is a social phenomenon seen throughout the world. Indeed, the number of collisions on roads and level crossings linked to increased use of new technology or the wearing of headsets or earphones has increased in many countries.

Our accident-prevention message for 2015 “Take your time, don’t risk your life!” is for everyone. What is a minute in a lifetime?

As each year, the international conference which officially launches this worldwide event will be hosted by a partner. This year on 3 June, we will be welcomed by Turkish Railways (TCDD) in Istanbul, in the magnificent Haydarpaṣa Station building, on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Venues of past events:

In 2009 at the European Commission in Brussels

In 2010 at the European Commission in Brussels and at INFRABEL in Belgium

In 2011 at PKP PLK in Warsaw, Poland

In 2012 at RFF in Paris, France

In 2013 at UNECE in Geneva, Switzerland

In 2014 at REFER in Lisbon, Portugal

43 countries took part last year

New participant for 2015: Japan with JR East and JR West

Some statistics:

In 2012: about 600 000 level crossings in the world; 114 000 LCs in the EU

According to ERA’s safety report (2010-2012) http://www.era.europa.eu : a graph “Share of fatalities for level crossing (LC) accidents out of all other railway and road accidents” shows: 29% for railways, 1% for the road. Pedestrians represent about 40% of the people killed at level crossings.

Examples of Guides to Good Practice for road users (professional drivers, motorists, etc.) and pedestrians and cyclists, to promote awareness of the dangers at and near level crossings, as well as along the tracks and in stations